Eden's Garden: Rethinking Sin and Evil in an Era of Scientific PromiseThe time is ripe for a robust discussion of human nature. In Eden's Garden: Rethinking Sin and Evil in an Era of Scientific Promise, Richard Coleman examines the notion of sin in a contemporary world that values scientific and nonreligious modes of thought regarding human behavior. This work is not an anti-science polemic, but rather an argument to show how sin and evil can make sense to the nonreligious mind, and how it is valuable to make sense of such phenomena. The author reconceptualizes sin and evil as 'indelible pieces of our evolutionary history' preventing them from being ostracized as 'too religious, without substance, mired in the past.' Coleman redeems theology for what it can offer to the understanding of sin and evil while embracing and respecting what science can offer to further the common good. Examining themes in religion, philosophy, and theology, it is ideal for use in the numerous courses that move across these disciplines. |
From inside the book
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Page 2
... reality . When it comes to science proper , it isn't easy to say where sin and evil reside . Because of its aura of objectivity , sci- ence is regarded as exempt from culpability . But is the knowledge that scien- tists discover and ...
... reality . When it comes to science proper , it isn't easy to say where sin and evil reside . Because of its aura of objectivity , sci- ence is regarded as exempt from culpability . But is the knowledge that scien- tists discover and ...
Page 7
... reality that , as far as we know , sin and evil are truly universal in scope , in every place and time . This means , if there is any doubt , that if we were to encounter a self - conscious extraterrestrial being , we should expect that ...
... reality that , as far as we know , sin and evil are truly universal in scope , in every place and time . This means , if there is any doubt , that if we were to encounter a self - conscious extraterrestrial being , we should expect that ...
Page 8
... reality the fact that no matter how much we become the subject rather than the object of evolution , no matter how ... realities are thought to be pessimists on the way to being useless cynics . But the diehard optimist can be accused of ...
... reality the fact that no matter how much we become the subject rather than the object of evolution , no matter how ... realities are thought to be pessimists on the way to being useless cynics . But the diehard optimist can be accused of ...
Page 19
... realities we must take into account if our posthuman future has any hope of being something other than a repeat performance of knowledge ( as in the Tree of Knowledge ) too tempting to resist . A different way of looking at what I am ...
... realities we must take into account if our posthuman future has any hope of being something other than a repeat performance of knowledge ( as in the Tree of Knowledge ) too tempting to resist . A different way of looking at what I am ...
Page 21
... realities . And while the " sins of the fathers " and the greed of some corporate executives are not our daily fare , there is a common , everyday understanding of sin . But it will never see the light of day unless it is narrated . The ...
... realities . And while the " sins of the fathers " and the greed of some corporate executives are not our daily fare , there is a common , everyday understanding of sin . But it will never see the light of day unless it is narrated . The ...
Contents
Knowledge Too Powerful to Be Ignored The Good and Noble Scientist | 45 |
Knowledge Too Good Not to Be Exploited The Compromised Scientist | 79 |
THE NEW OCCASION FOR AN ORIGINAL TEMPTATION | 127 |
Sin of the Common Variety Distinguishing Sin from Evil and Sin from Sins | 129 |
Sin Uniquely Christian A Fresh Interpretation of The Fall | 161 |
Sins Genealogy The Emergence of Sin | 189 |
Science as the New Occasion for Sin When Humans Overreach | 223 |
SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY IN COUNTERBALANCE | 247 |
What Can We Expect? So Much Depends on How We Answer | 249 |
Selected Bibliography | 283 |
293 | |
295 | |
299 | |
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Adam and Eve altruism androids argument atomic bomb Auschwitz become begins behavior believe better biological biotechnology Blank Slate Boston Globe capacity century chapter Christian Cold War common create creature culture death desire distinction empiricism ence enhancement ethical everything evil evolution evolutionary expect feel Franck Report Fukuyama fundamental future genes genetic Genome global happens hope human condition human nature issue John Polkinghorne Kass kind knowledge language Leon Kass lives Manhattan Project Matt Ridley matter means mind modern moral nation Neiman never Niebuhr Oppenheimer original sin ourselves philosophers Pinker political posthuman question reality reason Reinhold Niebuhr religion responsibility Robert Oppenheimer Rousseau science and theology scientific scientists self-awareness self-transcendence sense sinful social society speak story theologians theology thing tion tradition transcend Trinity test trust truth understanding University Press writes Yahweh York
Popular passages
Page 26 - Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select — doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.